Drummond Castle Gardens

Overview

Drummond Castle Gardens are located a few miles south of the town of Crieff and are easily accessed via the A822. The gardens featured in the "Outlander" TV show where they were used to represent scenes that were meant to be located in Versailles. The admission price appears to have increased in recent years in response to the popularity of the gardens with "Outlander" fans.

The gardens at Drummond Castle are lovely, but how much you enjoy the gardens will depend on the time of year that you visit. The floral displays are, in our experience, better towards late summer and we have found the gardens to be a bit colourless when visiting in early June. Before paying to go in, we would suggest that you try to peak around the high wall at the entrance to the castle courtyard as you will then be able to get a glimpse of one corner of the walled garden and this will give you some idea of how much of the garden is in bloom.

A long and impressive tree-lined driveway leads from the entrance gate on the A822 up to the castle and car park. Unfortunately, the buildings of Drummond Castle are not open to the public and this is a pity as the 15th century tower looks like it would be interesting to explore.

The walled ornamental garden covers a large area and is best appreciated from the steps that descend down from the castle courtyard. From this elevated position, you can admire the patterns of the neatly trimmed hedges and the carefully balanced arrangements of trees and shrubs. When you buy your admission tickets, you receive a small map of the gardens that guides you to find different groupings of plants..

If you are into horticulture you will enjoy these gardens, but this isn't a place that we would recommend for younger families looking to have a picnic whilst children run around. It is somehow a bit too formal feeling for that. 

It is approximately a 90-minute drive from Edinburgh so you could visit Drummond Castle Gardens as a day trip from the capital.